2021 American Athletic Conference football season

2021 American Athletic Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	September 2, 2021 — December 31, 2021
Number of teams	11
TV partner(s)	ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network
2022 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Sauce Gardner (Cincinnati)
Picked by	New York Jets, 4th overall
Regular season
Season champions	Cincinnati
Runners-up	Houston
The American Championship
Football seasons
←  2020 2022  →

2021 American Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Cincinnati y$^		8	–	0					13	–	1
No. 17 Houston y		8	–	0					12	–	2
UCF		5	–	3					9	–	4
East Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	5
Tulsa		5	–	3					7	–	6
SMU		4	–	4					8	–	4
Memphis		3	–	5					6	–	6
Navy		3	–	5					4	–	8
Tulane		1	–	7					2	–	10
South Florida		1	–	7					2	–	10
Temple		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Cincinnati 35, Houston 20
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 American Athletic Conference football season was the 30th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season was the ninth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the eighth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.

Previous season

Cincinnati secured their second consecutive championship game appearance and faced Tulsa in the 2020 AAC Championship game. ^[1]

Six teams participated in bowl games during the 2020 season; the league went 1–5.

Tulane lost to Nevada 38-27 in the 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. ^[2] UCF lost to BYU in the Boca Raton Bowl 49-23. ^[3] Memphis defeated Florida Atlantic 25–10 in the Montgomery Bowl. ^[4] Houston lost to Hawaii 28-14 in the 2020 New Mexico Bowl. ^[5] No. 24 Tulsa lost to Mississippi State 28-26 in the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl in a game that ended with a benches clearing brawl. ^[6]

In the New Year's Six Game, No. 8 Cincinnati lost in an instant classic to No. 9 Georgia 24–21 in the Peach Bowl. ^[7]

Preseason

Recruiting classes

Rankings

Team	ESPN [8]	Rivals [9]	24/7 [10]
Cincinnati		39	45
East Carolina		100	97
Houston		85	84
Memphis		48	47
Navy		68	104
SMU		61	51
South Florida		56	64
Temple			117
Tulane		85	81
Tulsa			127
UCF		54	58

American Athletic Conference Media Days

The 2021 American Media day was held virtually August 3 and 4, 2021 ^[11]

•2021 The American Virtual Football Media Days

Preseason media poll

The American Athletic Conference preseason media poll was released at the virtual media day held August 4, 2021. ^[12] Cincinnati, who finished the 2020 season ranked No. 8 nationally, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2021 preseason media poll.

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Cincinnati	262 (22)
2	UCF	241 (2)
3	SMU	188
4	Houston	181
5	Memphis	168
6	Tulsa	153
7	Tulane	132
т-8	East Carolina	85
т-8	Navy	85
10	Temple	46
11	South Florida	43

Preseason awards

Award	Head Coach/Player	School	Position	Link
Lott Trophy	Coby Bryant	Cincinnati	CB	[13]
Dodd Trophy	Luke Fickell	Cincinnati	HC	[14]
Maxwell Award	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	QB	[15]
	Calvin Austin	Memphis	WR
	Ulysses Bentley IV	SMU	RB
	Reggie Roberson Jr.	SMU	WR
	Dillon Gabriel	UCF	QB
Bednarik Award	Sauce Gardner	Cincinnati	CB	[16]
	Myjai Sanders	Cincinnati	DE
	Quindell Johnson	Memphis	S
	Diego Fagot	Navy	LB
Davey O'Brien Award	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	QB	[17]
	Dillon Gabriel	UCF	QB
Doak Walker Award	Rahjai Harris	East Carolina	RB	[18]
	Mulbah Car	Houston	RB
	Ulysses Bentley, IV	SMU	RB
	Cameron Carroll	Tulane	RB
	Shamari Brooks	Tulsa	RB
Fred Biletnikoff Award	Calvin Austin	Memphis	WR	[19]
	Rashee Rice	SMU	WR
	Reggie Roberson Jr.	SMU	WR
	Keylon Stokes	Tulsa	WR
	Jaylon Robinson	UCF	WR
John Mackey Award	Josh Whyle	Cincinnati	TE	[20]
	Grant Calcaterra	SMU	TE
Rimington Trophy	Kody Russey	Houston	OL	[21]
	C.J. Perez	Temple	OL
	Sincere Haynesworth	Tulane	OL
Outland Trophy	Dylan Parham	Memphis	G	[22]
	Jaylon Thomas	SMU	T
	Corey Dublin	Tulane	G
	Tyler Smith	Tulsa	T
	Cole Schneider	UCF	DT
Bronko Nagurski Trophy	Diego Fagot	Navy	LB	[23]
	Sauce Gardner	Cincinnati	CB
	Myjai Sanders	Cincinnati	DE
	Jaxon Player	Tulsa	DT
Lou Groza Award	Blake Mazza	SMU	PK	[24]
Paul Hornung Award	Tyler Snead	East Carolina	WR	[25]
	Nathaniel Dell	Houston	WR
	Danny Gray	SMU	WR
	Jha’Quan Jackson	Tulane	WR
	Keylon Stokes	Tulsa	WR
Wuerffel Trophy	Holton Ahlers	East Carolina	QB	[26]
	Marcus Jones	Houston	DB
	Preston Brady	Memphis	LS
	Shaine Hailey	SMU	LB
	Mitchell Brinkman	South Florida	CB
	Re-Al Mitchell	Temple	QB
	Nick Anderson	Tulane	LB
	Chris Paul	Tulsa	OG
Walter Camp Award	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	QB	[27]
	Dillon Gabriel	UCF	QB
Manning Award	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	QB	[28]
	Michael Pratt	Tulane	QB
	Dillon Gabriel	UCF	QB
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award	Clayton Tune	Houston	QB	[29]
	Sean Dykes	Memphis	TE
	Ulysses Bentley IV	SMU	RB
	Reggie Roberson, Jr.	SMU	RB
	Deneric Prince	Tulsa	RB
	Keylon Stokes	Tulsa	WR
	Jaylon Robinson	UCF	WR
Ray Guy Award	Jonn Young	East Carolina	P	[30]
	Laine Wilkins	Houston	P
	Daniel Davies	Navy	P
	Adam Barry	Temple	P
	Ryan Wright	Tulane	P
	Lachlan Wilson	Tulsa	P
	Andrew Osteen	UCF	P
Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award	Tama Tuitele	Navy	LB	[31]
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	QB	[32]
	Clayton Tune	Houston	QB
	Dillon Gabriel	UCF	QB

Head coaches

Coaching changes

On January 27, 2021 Josh Heupel departed UCF to Tennessee. Gus Malzahn was hired to serve as the new head coach on February 15, 2021. ^[33]

Coaches

Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2021 regular season

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	AAC record
Cincinnati	Luke Fickell	5	53–21 (.716)	47–14 (.770)	29–9 (.763)
East Carolina	Mike Houston	3	94–44 (.681)	14–19 (.424)	4–12 (.250)
Houston	Dana Holgorsen	3	68–54 (.557)	7–13 (.350)	5–9 (.357)
Memphis	Ryan Silverfield	2	8–4 (.667)	8–4 (.667)	5–3 (.625)
Navy	Ken Niumatalolo	14	101–67 (.601)	101–67 (.601)	30–17 (.638)
SMU	Sonny Dykes	4	63–59 (.516)	22–14 (.611)	14–9 (.609)
South Florida	Jeff Scott	2	1–8 (.111)	1–8 (.111)	0–7 (.000)
Temple	Rod Carey	3	61–41 (.598)	9–11 (.450)	6–9 (.400)
Tulane	Willie Fritz	6	185–112 (.623)	31–43 (.419)	16–32 (.333)
Tulsa	Philip Montgomery	7	37–46 (.446)	37–46 (.446)	24–29 (.453)
UCF	Gus Malzahn	1	85–42 (.669)	8–4 (.667)	5–3 (.625)

Source: ^[34]

Rankings

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
Cincinnati	AP	7	8	8	7	5	3	2	2	2	2	3	4	3	4	4
	C	10	8	9	8	6	4	3	2	2	3	3	4	4	4	4
	CFP	Not released								6	5	5	4	4	4
East Carolina	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Houston	AP	RV						RV	RV	20	17	17	19	16	21	17
	C	RV					RV	RV	RV	19	17	17	16	16	21	17
	CFP	Not released										24	24	21	20
Memphis	AP				RV
	C			RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Navy	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
SMU	AP					RV	24	23	21	19	23	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	23	19	16	24	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
South Florida	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Temple	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Tulane	AP
	C		RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Tulsa	AP
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
UCF	AP	RV	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released

Schedule

The regular season will begin on September 2, 2021 and will end on November 27, 2021. The season will conclude with the 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship Game on December 4.

At Media Day American Commissioner Mike Aresco said games will not be rescheduled this year because of COVID & if teams can’t play, they will have to forfeit ^[35]

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member lost
American teams in bold

Week One

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Boise State	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	ESPN	W 36–31	43,928
September 2	7:30 p.m.	East Carolina	Appalachian State	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC (Duke's Mayo Classic)	ESPNU	L 19–33	36,752
September 2	7:30 p.m.	South Florida	NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC	ACC Network	L 0–45	52,633
September 2	7:30 p.m.	No. 23 (FCS)  UC Davis	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	L 17–19	15,085
September 4	Noon	Temple	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	L 14–61	52,519
September 4	Noon	No. 2  Oklahoma	Tulane	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK [lower-alpha 1]	ABC	L 35–40	42,206
September 4	3:30 p.m.	Miami (OH)	No. 8  Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Victory Bell)	ESPN+	W 49–14	37,978
September 4	3:30 p.m.	Marshall	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	L 7–49	30,131
September 4	7:00 p.m.	Texas Tech	Houston	NRG Stadium • Houston, TX (Texas Kickoff)	ESPN	L 21–38	43,478
September 4	7:00 p.m.	No. 22 (FCS)  Nicholls	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPN+	W 42–17	30,263
September 4	7:00 p.m.	Abilene Christian	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	ESPN+	W 56–9	23,373
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Two

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 11	Noon	South Carolina	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPN2	L 17–20	40,816
September 11	Noon	Tulsa	Oklahoma State	Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK	FS1	L 23–28	52,127
September 11	1:00 p.m.	No. 13  Florida	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ABC	L 20–42	64,692
September 11	1:00 p.m.	Morgan State	Tulane	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL [lower-alpha 2]	ESPN+	W 69–20	2,100
September 11	3:30 p.m.	Murray State	No. 7 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPN+	W 42–7	33,498
September 11	3:30 p.m.	Air Force	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBS	L 3–23	36,997
September 11	3:30 p.m.	Temple	Akron	InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH	ESPN+	W 45–24	14,474
September 11	6:30 p.m.	Bethune-Cookman	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	ESPN+	W 63–14	38,443
September 11	6:30 p.m.	Houston	Rice	Rice Stadium • Houston, TX (rivalry)	CBSSN	W 44–7	26,253
September 11	7:00 p.m.	Memphis	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR (Paint Bucket Bowl)	ESPN+	W 55–50	19,501
September 11	7:00 p.m.	North Texas	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX (Safeway Bowl)	ESPN+	W 35–12	29,121
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Three

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 17	7:30 p.m.	UCF	Louisville	Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	ESPN	L 35–42	39,022
September 18	Noon	No. 8 Cincinnati	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPN	W 38–24	52,656
September 18	Noon	Boston College	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPNU	L 3–28	25,290
September 18	3:30 p.m.	SMU	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	CBSSN	W 39–37	15,326
September 18	3:30 p.m.	Tulsa	No. 9  Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	FS1	L 20–41	76,540
September 18	4:00 p.m.	Mississippi State	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPN2	W 31–29	43,461
September 18	6:00 p.m.	East Carolina	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV (rivalry)	CBSSN Facebook	W 42–38	24,833
September 18	7:00 p.m.	Grambling State	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPN+	W 45–0	22,998
September 18	7:00 p.m.	Florida A&M	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN+	W 38–17	29,475
September 18	8:00 p.m.	Tulane	No. 17  Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 21–61	54,198
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 18	Navy

Week Four

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 25	Noon	SMU	TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	FS1	W 42–34	46,672
September 25	Noon	Wagner	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPN+	W 41–7	20,179
September 25	3:30 p.m.	UTSA	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPNU	L 28–31	29,264
September 25	5:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	W 41–34	14,881
September 25	6:00 p.m.	Charleston Southern	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPN+	W 31–28	39,218
September 25	7:00 p.m.	Navy	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPNU	HOU 28–20	25,054
September 25	8:00 p.m.	UAB	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN+	L 21–28	16,023
September 25	10:15 p.m.	South Florida	No. 15  BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	ESPN2	L 27–35	60,217
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 25	UCF	No. 8 Cincinnati

Week Five

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 1	7:30 p.m.	Houston	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK (rivalry)	ESPN	HOU 45–10	15,890
October 2	Noon	Memphis	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPNU	TEM 34–31	28,573
October 2	2:30 p.m.	No. 7 Cincinnati	No. 9  Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	NBC	W 24–13	77,622
October 2	3:30 p.m.	Tulane	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPN+	ECU 52–29	33,475
October 2	3:30 p.m.	UCF	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	NAVY 34–30	30,871
October 2	4:00 p.m.	South Florida	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	ESPNU	SMU 41–17	23,355
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Six

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 7	7:30 p.m.	Houston	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN	HOU 40–22	15,026
October 8	7:00 p.m.	Temple	No. 5 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPN	CIN 52–3	37,978
October 9	3:30 p.m.	No. 24 SMU	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD (Gansz Trophy)	CBSSN	SMU 31–24	28,563
October 9	6:00 p.m.	East Carolina	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	ESPN+	UCF 20–16	41,649
October 9	9:00 p.m.	Memphis	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN2	TLSA 35–29	17,593
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 9	South Florida

Week Seven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 14	7:30 p.m.	Navy	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPN	MEM 35–17	30,042
October 16	Noon	UCF	No. 3 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ABC	CIN 56–21	37,978
October 16	Noon	Tulsa	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPNU	TLSA 32–31	21,767
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 16	East Carolina	Houston	No. 23 SMU	Temple	Tulane

Week Eight

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 21	7:30 p.m.	Tulane	No. 21 SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	ESPN	SMU 55–26	22,843
October 22	7:00 p.m.	Memphis	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	ESPN2	UCF 24–7	39,328
October 23	Noon	No. 2 Cincinnati	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	ESPN2	CIN 27–20	32,004
October 23	7:00 p.m.	Temple	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN+	USF 34–14	25,430
October 23	9:20 p.m.	East Carolina	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPNews α	HOU 31–24 OT	22,925
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

• ^α This game was initially scheduled for ESPNU at 4PM ET, but moved to 9:20PM ET on ESPNews because of a rain delay.. ^[37]

Date	Bye Week
October 23	Tulsa

Week Nine

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 28	7:30 p.m.	South Florida	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPN	ECU 29–14	32,015
October 29	7:30 p.m.	Navy	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN2	NAVY 20–17	16,279
October 30	Noon	UCF	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPN+	UCF 49–7	19,595
October 30	Noon	No. 2 Cincinnati	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN2	CIN 31–12	17,012
October 30	7:00 p.m.	No. 19 SMU	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPN2	HOU 44–37	25,676
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 30	Memphis

Week Ten

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 6	Noon	No. 23 SMU	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPNU	MEM 28–25	30,191
November 6	3:00 p.m.	Temple	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPN+	ECU 45–3	32,817
November 6	3:30 p.m.	Tulsa	No. 2 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (College GameDay)	ESPN2	CIN 28–20	37,978
November 6	3:30 p.m.	Navy	No. 8 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	L 6–34	77,096
November 6	4:00 p.m.	Tulane	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	ESPNU	UCF 14–10	41,030
November 6	7:30 p.m.	No. 20 Houston	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPNU	HOU 54–42	28,667
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Eleven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 12	6:00 p.m.	No. 2 Cincinnati	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN2	CIN 48–28	30,708
November 13	Noon	UCF	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	ESPNU	SMU 55–28	23,175
November 13	Noon	No. 17 Houston	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPN+	HOU 37–8	18,440
November 13	Noon	East Carolina	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPN+	ECU 30–29 OT	28,431
November 13	4:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	TLSA 20–13 OT	22,784
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 13	Navy

Week Twelve

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 19	9:00 p.m.	Memphis	No. 17 Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPN2	HOU 31–13	28,712
November 20	Noon	South Florida	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN+	TULN 45–14	14,496
November 20	3:30 p.m.	SMU	No. 3 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPN	CIN 48–14	37,978
November 20	3:30 p.m.	East Carolina	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	ECU 38–35	28,001
November 20	4:00 p.m.	UConn	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL (Civil Conflict)	ESPN+	W 49–17	37,454
November 20	4:00 p.m.	Temple	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	TLSA 44–10	16,731
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Thirteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 26	3:30 p.m.	No. 4 Cincinnati	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ABC	CIN 35–13	38,014
November 26	3:30 p.m.	South Florida	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL (War on I-4)	ESPN	UCF 17–13	41,157
November 27	Noon	No. 19 Houston	UConn	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	CBSSN	W 45–17	12,685
November 27	Noon	Navy	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPNU	NAVY 38–14	16,708
November 27	4:00 p.m.	Tulsa	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	ESPN2	TLSA 34–31	17,158
November 27	7:30 p.m.	Tulane	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPNU	MEM 33–28	27,416
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Fourteen (American Athletic Conference Championship)

Further information: 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 4	4:00 p.m.	No. 16 Houston	No. 3 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ABC	CIN 35–20	37,978
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Fifteen

See also: Army–Navy Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 11	3:00 p.m.	Navy	Army	Metlife Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ (122nd Army-Navy Game/Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBS	W 17–13	82,282
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1. Originally scheduled to be played as a home game, the game against Oklahoma was moved to Norman, Oklahoma on August 30, 2021, due to safety concerns related to Hurricane Ida. Tulane will remain the designated home team despite Oklahoma hosting the game. ^[36]
2. Originally scheduled to be played as a home game, the game against Morgan State was moved to Birmingham, Alabama due continued storm repairs taking place in New Orleans following Hurricane Ida. Tulane remained the designated home team.

Postseason

Bowl games

See also: 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games

In 2021 the American will send teams to the Military Bowl, Fenway Bowl, and Hawaii Bowl annually. The American will have four selections from the following bowls:Frisco Bowl, Cure Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl. Birmingham Bowl, First Responder Bowl and Myrtle Beach Bowl. ^[38] The American champion will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of Group of Five conferences in the final College Football Playoff rankings. American teams are also eligible for the College Football Playoff if they're among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking. ^[39]

Cancelled bowls

The following bowl games tied in with the American Athletic Conference had their 2021 editions canceled :

• ^A Memphis was originally slated to play in the Hawaii Bowl against Hawaii on December 24. Hawaii was forced to withdraw from the bowl game due to a shortage of available players, stemming from a combination of a COVID-19 outbreak within the team, players already out with injury, and players who transferred away from the school at the conclusion of the regular season. ^[40]
• ^B East Carolina was originally slated to play in the Military Bowl against Boston College on December 27. On December 26 the game was cancelled after Boston College had over 40 players unavailable to play in the Military Bowl against East Carolina. In a statement, Boston College said it did not have enough players to field a team because of coronavirus issues, season-ending injuries, opt-outs and transfers. ^[41]
• ^C SMU was originally slated to play in the Fenway Bowl against Virginia on December 29. Virginia was forced to withdraw game due to the number of COVID cases impacting its roster, preventing safe participation. As a result of this withdrawal, the game and associated activities will no longer take place ^[42]

Legend
	American win
	American loss

Bowl game [43]	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)	American team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
Myrtle Beach Bowl	December 20, 2021	Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC	ESPN	2:30 p.m.	Tulsa	Old Dominion	W 30–17	6,557
Gasparilla Bowl	December 23, 2021	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN	7:00 p.m.	UCF	Florida	W 29–17	63,669
Hawaii Bowl	December 24, 2021	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI	ESPN	8:00 p.m.	Memphis	Hawaii	Cancelled A
Military Bowl	December 27, 2021	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	ESPN	2:30 p.m.	East Carolina	Boston College	Cancelled B
Birmingham Bowl	December 28, 2021	Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL	ESPN	12:00 p.m.	No. 20 Houston	Auburn	W 17–13	47,100
Fenway Bowl	December 29, 2021	Fenway Park • Boston, MA	ESPN	11:00 a.m.	SMU	Virginia	Cancelled C
College Football Playoff
Cotton Bowl Classic	December 31, 2021	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas	ESPN	3:30 p.m.	No. 4 Cincinnati	No. 1 Alabama	L 6–27	76,313

Rankings from Final CFP rankings. All times Eastern Time Zone. American teams bolded.

Selection of teams

• Bowl-eligible (7): Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, UCF, Tulsa
• Bowl-ineligible: (4): Navy, South Florida, Temple, Tulane

American vs other conferences

American vs Power Five matchups

The following games include American teams competing against Power Five conferences teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, BYU/Notre Dame, Pac-12 and SEC). All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	ACC	South Florida	NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC	L 0–45
September 4	Big 12	Texas Tech	Houston	NRG Stadium • Houston, TX	L 21–38
September 4	Big Ten	Temple	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	L 14–61
September 4	Big 12	No. 2 Oklahoma	Tulane	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK	L 35–40
September 11	SEC	South Carolina	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	L 17–20
September 11	SEC	No. 13 Florida	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	L 20–42
September 11	Big 12	Tulsa	Oklahoma State	Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK	L 23–28
September 17	ACC	UCF	Louisville	Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY	L 35–42
September 18	Big Ten	No. 8 Cincinnati	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	W 38–24
September 18	SEC	Mississippi State	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	W 31–29
September 18	ACC	Boston College	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	L 3–28
September 18	SEC	Tulane	No. 17 Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	L 21–61
September 18	Big Ten	Tulsa	No. 9 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	L 20–41
September 25	Independent	South Florida	BYU	LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT	L 27–35
September 25	Big 12	SMU	TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX	W 42–34
October 2	Independent	No. 7 Cincinnati	No. 9 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	W 24–13
November 6	Independent	Navy	Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	L 6–34

American vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include American teams competing against teams from C-USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt.

Date	Conference	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	Sun Belt	East Carolina	Appalachian State	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC	L 19–33
September 4	Mountain West	Boise State	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	W 36–31
September 4	MAC	Miami (OH)	No. 8 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium• Cincinnati, OH	W 49–14
September 4	C-USA	Marshall	Navy	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	L 7–49
September 11	C-USA	Houston	Rice	Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	W 44–7
September 11	Sun Belt	Memphis	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W 55–50
September 11	Mountain West	Air Force	Navy	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	L 3–23
September 11	C-USA	North Texas	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	W 35–12
September 11	MAC	Temple	Akron	InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH	W 45–24
September 18	C-USA	East Carolina	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	W 42–38
September 18	C-USA	SMU	Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 39–37
September 25	C-USA	UTSA	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	L 28–31
September 25	C-USA	UAB	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	L 21–28
September 25	Sun Belt	Arkansas State	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	W 41–34

American vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include American teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn or UMass.

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
November 20	UConn	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	W 49–17
November 27	No. 19 Houston	UConn	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	W 45–17
December 11	Army	Navy	MetLife Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ	W 17–13

American vs FCS matchups

The Football Championship Subdivision comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs.

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
September 2	UC Davis	Tulsa	H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	L 17–19
September 4	Abilene Christian	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX	W 56–9
September 4	Nicholls	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	W 42–17
September 11	Murray State	No. 7 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	W 42–7
September 11	Morgan State	Tulane	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	W 69–20
September 11	Bethune-Cookman	UCF	Bounce House • Orlando, FL	W 63–14
September 18	Grambling State	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	W 45–0
September 18	Florida A&M	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	W 38–17
September 25	Charleston Southern	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	W 31–28
September 25	Wagner	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	W 41–7

Records against other conferences

Regular Season Power 5 Conferences Record ACC 0–3 Big Ten 1–2 Big 12 1–3 BYU/Notre Dame 1–2 Pac-12 0–0 SEC 2–4 Power 5 Total 5–11 Other FBS Conferences Record C–USA 3–1 Independents (Excluding BYU & Notre Dame) 8–0 MAC 1–2 Sun Belt 2–0 Other FBS Total 14–3 FCS Opponents Record Football Championship Subdivision 9–1 Total Non-Conference Record 28–15

Post Season Power Conferences 5 Record ACC 0–0 Big Ten 0–0 Big 12 0–0 BYU/Notre Dame 0–0 Pac-12 0–0 SEC 2–1 Power 5 Total 2–1 Other FBS Conferences Record C–USA 1–0 Independents (Excluding BYU & Notre Dame) 0–0 MAC 0–0 Mountain West 0–0 Sun Belt 0–0 Other FBS Total 1–0 Total Bowl Record 3–1

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week		Offensive				Defensive				Specialist
		Player	Team	Position		Player	Team	Position		Player	Team	Position
WEEK 1 [44]		Tanner Mordecai	SMU	QB		Kalia Davis	UCF	DL		Joe Doyle	Memphis	P
WEEK 2 [45]		Calvin Austin	Memphis	WR		William Kwenkeu	Temple	LB		Mannie Nunnery	Houston	LB
WEEK 3 [46]		Tanner Mordecai (2)	SMU	QB		Deshawn Pace	Cincinnati	LB		Calvin Austin	Memphis	WR
WEEK 4 [47]		Davis Brin	Tulsa	QB		Derek Parish	Houston	LB		Marcus Jones	Houston	CB
WEEK 5 [48]		Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	QB		Taylor Robinson	Navy	S		Marcus Jones (2)	Houston	CB
WEEK 6 [49]		Jerome Ford	Cincinnati	RB		Tatum Bethune	UCF	LB		Bryan Massey	SMU	S
WEEK 7 [50]		Jerome Ford (2)	Cincinnati	RB		Justin Wright	Tulsa	LB		Brian Battie	South Florida	RB
WEEK 8 [51]		Tanner Mordecai (3)	SMU	QB		Donavan Mutin	Houston	LB		Marcus Jones (3)	Houston	CB
WEEK 9 [52]		Nathaniel Dell	Houston	WR		Malik Fleming	East Carolina	CB		Marcus Jones (4)	Houston	CB
WEEK 10 [53]		Clayton Tune	Houston	QB		Rodney Owens	Memphis	CB		Brian Battie (2)	South Florida	RB
WEEK 11 [54]		Tanner Mordecai (4)	SMU	QB		Justin Wright (2)	Tulsa	LB		Owen Daffer	East Carolina	K
WEEK 12 [55]		Desmond Ridder (2)	Cincinnati	QB		Marcus Jones	Houston	CB		Owen Daffer (2)	East Carolina	K
WEEK 13 [56]		Seth Henigan	Memphis	QB		Sauce Gardner	Cincinnati	CB		David Kemp	Memphis	K

American Athletic Individual Awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as chosen by the league's head coaches. ^[57]

Award	Player	School
Offensive Player of the Year	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati
Defensive Player of the Year	Sauce Gardner *	Cincinnati
Special Teams Player of the Year	Marcus Jones	Houston
Rookie of the Year	Alton McCaskill	Houston
Coach of the Year	Luke Fickell	Cincinnati

All-Conference Teams

Position Player Team First Team Offense WR Nathaniel Dell Houston WR Calvin Austin * Memphis WR Danny Gray SMU OT Dylan O’Quinn Cincinnati OT Patrick Paul Houston OG Lorenz Metz Cincinnati OG Dylan Parham Memphis C Jake Renfro Cincinnati TE Sean Dykes Memphis QB Desmond Ridder Cincinnati RB Jerome Ford Cincinnati RB Keaton Mitchell East Carolina First Team Defense DL Big Kat Bryant UCF DL Curtis Brooks Cincinnati DL Myjai Sanders * Cincinnati DL David Anenih Houston DL Logan Hall Houston LB Darrian Beavers Cincinnati LB Joel Dublanko Cincinnati LB JJ Russell Memphis LB Diego Fagot Navy CB Sauce Gardner * Cincinnati CB Coby Bryant Cincinnati S Bryan Cook Cincinnati S Gervarrius Owens Houston First Team Special Teams K Owen Daffer East Carolina P Ryan Wright Tulane RS Marcus Jones Houston

Position Player Team Second Team Offense WR Ryan O’Keefe UCF WR Alec Pierce Cincinnati WR Tyler Snead East Carolina OT Alan Ali SMU OT Tyler Smith Tulsa OT Lokahi Pauole UCF OG Demetris Harris South Florida OG Hayden Howerton SMU C Kody Russey Houston TE Grant Calcaterra SMU QB Tanner Mordecai SMU RB Alton McCaskill Houston RB Ulysses Bentley IV SMU Second Team Defense DL John Tate IV Memphis DL Derek Parish Houston DL Elijah Chatman SMU DL Jaxon Player Tulsa LB Bruce Bivens East Carolina LB Donavan Mutin Houston LB Antonio Grier South Florida LB Delano Robinson SMU CB Ja'Quan McMillian East Carolina CB Marcus Jones Houston S Divaad Wilson UCF S Quindell Johnson Memphis Second Team Special Teams K Bijan Nichols Navy P Jonn Young East Carolina RS Bryan Massey SMU

* Denotes Unanimous Selection

All Conference Honorable Mentions:

• UCF: Tatum Bethune (LB), Cole Schneider (OG), Marcus Tatum (OT)
• Cincinnati: Marcus Brown (DL), Deshawn Pace (LB), Josh Whyle (TE)
• Houston: Laine Wilkins (P)
• South Florida: Jaren Mangham (RB), Spenser Shrader (P)
• SMU: Rashee Rice (WR)
• Temple: C.J. Perez (C)
• Tulane: Sincere Haynesworth (C), Dorian Williams (LB), Macon Clark (S)
• Tulsa: Chris Paul (OG), Justin Wright (LB)

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 2021 College Football All-America Team.

The 2021 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), Sporting News (TSN, from its historic name of The Sporting News), Sports Illustrated (SI), The Athletic (Athletic), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), College Football News (CFN), Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, and Fox Sports (FOX).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. Players are chosen against other players playing at their position only. To be selected a consensus All-American, players must be chosen to the first team on at least half of the five official selectors as recognized by the NCAA. Second- and third-team honors are used to break ties. Players named first-team by all five selectors are deemed unanimous All-Americans. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine consensus and unanimous All-Americans. ^[58]

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous	Consensus
First Team All-Americans
CB	Sauce Gardner	Cincinnati	(AFCA, AP, CBS, ESPN, FWAA, The Athletic, TSN, USAT)		*
CB	Coby Bryant	Cincinnati	(AFCA, WCFF)
DB	Marcus Jones	Houston	(AP)
AP	Marcus Jones	Houston	(CBS, ESPN, FWAA, The Athletic, TSN, USAT)		*
KR	Brian Battie	South Florida	(FWAA, WCFF)		*

Position	Player	School	Selector
Second Team All-Americans
CB	Coby Bryant	Cincinnati	(AP, CBS, TSN, USAT)
CB	Sauce Gardner	Cincinnati	(WCFF)
CB	Ja'Quan McMillian	East Carolina	(AP, FWAA, TSN)
PR	Marcus Jones	Houston	(AP, CBS, WCFF)
KR	Brian Battie	South Florida	(CBS, TSN)

List of All American Teams

• American Football Coaches Association All-America Team
• Associated Press All-America Team
• CBS Sports All-America Team
• ESPN All-America Team
• Football Writers Association of America All-America Team
• The Athletic All-America Team
• The Sporting News 2021 College Football All-America Team
• USA Today All-America Team
• Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America Team

National award winners

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season § Awards and honors

Home Depot Coach of the Year Award
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati ^[59]

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati ^[60]

Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati ^[61]

AFCA Coach of Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati ^[62]

Bear Bryant Award
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati ^[63]

Paul Hornung Award
Marcus Jones, Houston ^[64]

Jim Thorpe Award
Coby Bryant, Cincinnati ^[65]

Jet Award
Marcus Jones, Houston ^[66]

^[67]

NFL Draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team
Sauce Gardner	CB	Cincinnati	1	4	4	New York Jets
Tyler Smith	OT	Tulsa	1	24	24	Dallas Cowboys
Logan Hall	DT	Houston	2	1	33	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Alec Pierce	WR	Cincinnati	2	21	53	Indianapolis Colts
Bryan Cook	S	Cincinnati	2	30	62	Kansas City Chiefs
Desmond Ridder	QB	Cincinnati	3	10	74	Atlanta Falcons
Marcus Jones	DB	Houston	3	21	85	New England Patriots
Dylan Parham	OG	Memphis	3	26	90	Las Vegas Raiders
Myjai Sanders	DE	Cincinnati	3	36	100	Arizona Cardinals
Danny Gray	WR	SMU	3	41	105	San Francisco 49ers
Coby Bryant	CB	Cincinnati	4	4	109	Seattle Seahawks
Calvin Austin	WR	Memphis	4	33	138	Pittsburgh Steelers
Damarion Williams	CB	Houston	4	36	141	Baltimore Ravens
Jerome Ford	RB	Cincinnati	5	13	156	Cleveland Browns
Darrian Beavers	LB	Cincinnati	6	3	182	New York Giants
Grant Calcaterra	TE	SMU	6	20	198	Philadelphia Eagles
Curtis Brooks	DT	Cincinnati	6	38	216	Indianapolis Colts
Kalia Davis	DT	UCF	6	42	220	San Francisco 49ers
Chris Paul	OG	Tulsa	7	9	230	Washington Commanders

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